David Clayton-Thomas, voice of Blood, Sweat & Tears and Woodstock legend, dies at 84
The Canadian singer, whose soulful voice powered hits like 'Spinning Wheel' and 'You've Made Me So Very Happy', died peacefully in a Toronto hospital on June 24. He was 84.
A defining voice of the late 1960s
David Clayton-Thomas, the Canadian singer whose soulful, brass-infused vocals became the signature of Blood, Sweat & Tears, died on June 24 at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. He was 84. His publicist, Eric Alper, confirmed the death to the CBC, noting that Clayton-Thomas died peacefully. No cause of death was given.
He died peacefully.
The band's fusion of rock, jazz, and R&B produced a string of hits that saturated American radio in 1969. "Spinning Wheel," which Clayton-Thomas wrote, reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, as did "You've Made Me So Very Happy" and "And When I Die." That year, their self-titled album won the Grammy for Album of the Year, beating The Beatles' "Abbey Road." The group's sound meshed with the R&B acts of the era and more pop-leaning horn bands like Chicago. Their popularity extended to Europe, where "Spinning Wheel" and "You've Made Me So Very Happy" became hits in the Netherlands and elsewhere.
From street fighter to Grammy winner
Before his rise to fame, Clayton-Thomas had a turbulent youth in Canada, spending time as a street fighter and small-time criminal. He began performing in prisons in the 1960s before joining the nine-piece Blood, Sweat & Tears. His gritty voice quickly became the group's centerpiece, helping them sell millions of records and win two Grammy Awards in 1970.
Woodstock and the Iron Curtain
The band's prominence was cemented at the Woodstock festival in August 1969, where they were one of the highest-paid acts. A year later, in 1970, Blood, Sweat & Tears became the first rock group to perform behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, a milestone in their global reach.
Later years and legacy
Clayton-Thomas left the group in 1972 to pursue a solo career, releasing several albums before returning to Blood, Sweat & Tears in the early 1980s. While the band's commercial star faded as the 1970s progressed, he continued working over the decades, both solo and with later incarnations of the group. In 1996, he was inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame. His voice remains a touchstone of the late-1960s rock-soul era.
